Mission Interrupted
by waddiwasiwitch
Summary: Despite all the improvements being made by Mustang and his admnistation in Ishbal, not everyone is happy to see the man who participated in the Ishbal genoicde.


**Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own anything**

 _Dedicated to thesilentwatcher on Tumblr as it was inspired by her beautiful artwork_

* * *

 **Mission Interrupted**

It seemed scandalous somehow, all these modern military buildings in the harsh, unforgiving dessert. Blonde haired, blue eyed soldiers in their clean and pristine uniforms while their Ishbalan counterparts struggled to make ends meat and especially since the Amestian military was the reason for destroying Ishbal. Riza Hawkeye knew she wasn't the only one that was uneasy being here in Ishbal. Then she didn't have the luxury of being uncomfortable, not with the blood on her hands and the blood shed by her father's alchemy. She entered Brigadier General Mustang's office flanked by Lieutenants Havoc and Breda. The General had specially requested that they report to the office at 7am sharp. Her commanding officer wasn't known for his punctuality and so she knew it must be serious. Things had been tough since they had arrived in the Ishbal, but especially in the last six months. They had done a lot of good work and made a lot of changes for the better, but the Flame Alchemist and the Hawk's Eye were not particularly welcome given their reputations and there had been a number of threats made against them. Then, there was also the sabotaging of the recent meeting with the dignitaries of Xing. Roy was keeping his cards close to his chest and she suspected he knew more than he was letting on and that made her unsettled. If she was supposed to be his bodyguard, then he should be sharing his suspicions with her.

* * *

Roy was at his desk waiting for them, his fingers steepled on the desk in front of him.

All three officers saluted their General and clicked their heels together, "Sir!"

Riza took a moment to examine her superior officer; his dark hair was mussed, his eyes were haunted and he had dark circles under his eyes betraying the lack of a good night's sleep. If he was anything like her, nightmares were a nightly feature since arriving in the desert. She wondered briefly if Roy had even gone home or if he had stayed in his office all night.

"You look like shit, sir," Havoc stated, as blunt as ever.

Roy glared at his subordinate, "Good morning too, Lieutenant Havoc." He looked from Havoc to Breda and finally let his gaze linger on Riza for a moment. He sat up straighter, his mouth pursed. "I've call you three here for a reason. We have word of a cell of terrorists operating in this district. I believe they are the same group that attacked us when the Ling Yao and his dignitaries came to Ishbal to discuss the trade routes I want us to be the ones who bring them in."

"Is that such a good idea, Boss?" Breda asked. "You're the General here, surely someone else could lead this mission? I mean it is likely these are the same terrorists that tried to kill you that day."

"They could," Roy admitted. "But it's personal - they are testing me. They killed three of our men and I want to avoid as much bloodshed as possible. There's no proof as of yet that I was indeed their intended target."

"It could be a trap, sir," Riza pointed out. It most likely is.

"And if it is, you'll save my ass as usual." He raised an eyebrow. "I trust you all to protect me and protect each other. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," the three chorused.

"I give all three of you permission to leave the headquarters at 3pm and we will reconvene at this address tonight." Roy reached into his drawer and stood up before handed each of them a piece of paper. "We'll stagger our arrivals, so make sure to arrival at the exact time." Riza unfolded the piece of paper and the address of one of their safe houses was written in Roy's untidy scrawl and the time, 21:15.

"This is off the books, I don't want anybody outside of this office getting wind of this. I will be informing Fuery and Falman of the my plans, but they will both be involved from a distance. You three are coming with me to apprehend the suspects. Any questions?"

"No, sir!"

* * *

Later that night, Roy sat at the living room table of the safe house. The blueprints were laid out in front of him and he examined them carefully to ensure there were no entrances he had missed. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins as he contemplated the night ahead. He did not know if this was the right thing to do, but knew he had the responsibility to catch these men. Sometimes, he wondered if it would be best if he was to leave Isbal, but he had made a promise and he had to ensure that he achieved his goals before he could rely on someone else to follow through.

But maybe my presence is destabilising and a reminder of the sins that Amestris perpetuated? Is it selfish to stay? Was it his own pride and guilt that was keeping him here?

Roy ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. Now was not the time to be thinking of these things; he had a job to do.

There was firm knock on the door and Roy checked his pocket watch, it was exactly 21:15.

He smiled. Some things you could always rely on; it would be the Lieutenant, of course.

He made his way across the room to the door and ushered her in.

Riza glanced around the room.

Her eyes landed on the papers on the table. "Are those the blueprints?"

He sat down again on his previously occupied seat. "Yes - want to take a look?"

She nodded and sat down opposite him. He shuffled the papers together and passed them across the table. She frowned as she looked over the blueprints. There were only two exits in the building and both were far from each other. It would be far too easy to get hemmed in. She looked up at him, his jaw was set and he had a focused look in his eyes.

Though, she knew the answer, she had to ask, "Are you sure about this?"

"I thought you trusted me?" His smile was playful, the kind he usually wore to much effect to those who didn't know him, but rarely on her.

"What are you not telling me?"

"Nothing."

Knowing she would get no more from the man, she turned her attention back to the blue prints. "So what's the plan?"

"We divide into two teams. We'll take the east side of the building and Breda and Havoc can take the west side." He pointed at the entrance to the eastern side, "We'll enter here."

* * *

It was 22:00 hours and the four soldiers walked silently into a courtyard surrounding the target building, three guns drawn and fingers poised to snap.

"As agreed, Hawkeye with me," Roy ordered. "Men, use your radio if you hear anything, Fuery's back at the base should we need back up. Try not to get separated as you have only one radio between you. "

"Yes, sir!" Breda and Havoc saluted before heading to the back of the building.

Looking around carefully, Roy nodded at Riza and they headed for the front entrance. The door opened easily and Riza had an anxious feeling in her stomach.

"Ready?" Riza nodded and Roy pushed the door open.

A long empty corridor lay ahead, lights flickering above them.

"The building looks abandoned." Roy walked ahead as usual with Riza trailing and covering his back.

A crashing sound came from behind them.

"I'll go investigate," Riza offered.

She turned to leave, when he caught her arm.

"No, let's go together," Roy insisted. "Were you not listening to a word I said? We only have one radio between us. We need to stick together."

"But it could be a trap," she said. "They could be entering behind us. One of us has to go back to check and the other needs to proceed to the meeting point. It makes sense, General, you know it does."

He sighed, this woman always made him revaluate his decisions.

He reached for the radio, "Here take this."

The sound of bangs and commotion up ahead caused fear to hit him and he froze. "It sounds like Breda and Havoc may have found our targets.

He could see that same fear mirror in her expression as she took the radio from him. "You go ahead, but I'll go make sure we're not being followed."

It made sense and he didn't have time to argue; Roy nodded, despite the frown on his face.

"Be careful," Roy said. "If you don't catch up in five minutes, I'll come looking for you."

"It's probably just an animal, sir." She smiled reassuringly. "And sir, please don't keep your back open."

* * *

Riza walked swiftly down the corridor, her gun at the ready. When she reached the door, she pulled it open carefully. Her keen eyes took a moment to adjust to the change in the light and she stepped out warily, looking around her. Then she stopped a figure drop down from the high wall, a man with red eyes and white hair.

She raised her gun, "Hands up! I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to."

The man smirked but didn't raise his arms, "Are you the famous Hawk's Eye?"

Her hands went tighter on her gun, fanatics were always the most dangerous opponents. "Then you know you'd be dead already if I wished it."

He didn't move a muscle, "How dare you think that you can come back into our land with so called the hero of Ishbal, and pretend that you care about us? You throw money around like it makes up for what you Amestrians did. We are the people you incinerated from the land you turned to ash. You have some balls to go back there and try and use us for your political gain."

She removed the safety from her gun, "This is your last chance to surrender quietly. I might be good at killing, but I can assure you that I take no joy from it."

"Ha, you fool!"

She sensed rather than heard the movement behind her. She whirled around as much as she could without leaving her back open.

There was a glimmer of metal on top of the roof of the building opposite.

She gasped as she identified the rifle. A sniper. Shit.

The man below kept his hands up and laughed, "How does it feel to be hunted for once?"

Keeping her voice level as she could as she replied. "Would you believe it's been a while, but I know the feeling well."

She weighed up her options. She took a shot at the roof, but the sniper simply rolled out of the way.

Making use of the distraction, she grabbed her radio, keeping her eye on the Ishvalan in front of her, "It's Hawkeye, I need back up! Over."

"Where are you situated? Over!" The sound of Fuery's voice was comforting.

She whirled around to keep the sniper in sight. "The front entrance. The General knows where I went."

The Ishbalan made a move towards her and she aimed for his knee caps to disable him. He roared in pain and fell to the ground. A bullet whizzed by her ear and she stumbled. Catching herself, she didn't see that the sniper was lining up for another shot. The bullet didn't miss its mark and she gasped. She felt a searing pain in her abdomen and she tumbled sideways. Somehow, she righted herself and landed on her knees. She pulled the trigger again, but she missed her mark. The sniper was agile and her line of sight was blocked by the large tree in the courtyard.

Shit, shit. The gun slipped from her fingers which were slick with blood. NO! No, this couldn't be happening..

"You can scream if you want, Eye of the Hawk. Please do, but the sound will bring your precious General and his men right where we want them."

She knew it was what they wanted, but she had no choice now but to wait. She had to put her faith in the General and the others.

* * *

Roy walked quickly towards the sounds of the commotion. He looked over his shoulder before picking up the pace. She would make contact on the radio if she needed any help. The trouble was she had the radio and had no way of communicating directly with him unless he was to catch up with Havoc and Breda. The noise was getting louder and the voices more familiar as he walked through the corridors.

Havoc's voice held a tinge of annoyance. "We've got you cornered, you bastard!"

"Havoc, watch out!"

Suddenly, there was a flash of light and loud blast sounded up ahead.

What the hell was that?

He sped up, it sounded like an explosion and if it was his men could be right in the middle.

"Shit!"

It felt like he was running in slow motion, his lungs at their limit. He knew he was getting to the right path when he came across debris strewn in the corridor. He coughed as he swallowed the dust in the air. He rounded the corner and among the rubble could make out three figures.

A dark haired man with blue eyes was holding his arm, "I guess the jig is up, huh?"

Not knowing what had caused the blast, Roy was loathe to conjure any flame but reached for his gun and kept it trained on the man.

Alongside the man, Jean was sprawled on the ground, bits of timber on top of him, "Boss, it's good to see you. You might lend us a hand."

Breda was already standing, a nasty gash on the head but looking otherwise unharmed.

"I've got it, General." Breda reached for his gun.

Roy lowered his firearm, reached out and pulled Jean to his feet while Breda collared the dark haired man before tying his hands behind his back.

"He's an alchemist," Jean explained.

Roy turned his attention back to their prisoner.

"Do you recognise me, Mustang?"

"Robert McKinnon." Roy ignored the gasps from his subordinates. "I remember you and I am sorry I failed your father that day. I assure you that I did my best to save him."

Roy could see the hatred in the man's eyes; he recognised it well from what he saw every morning he looked in the mirror. "You only cared about being promoted, you didn't care about your men."

"That's not true, but it's not what is important now." Roy grabbed the man by the lapels, "How many more are you?"

The man just laughed. Irritated, Roy tried another tack.

"How careless must you be to get caught up in your own transmutation," Roy taunted.

"Unfortunately, I underestimated your men. Never mind, should I die my friends will be sure to send you to hell, Hero of Ishbal."

"I'm not going to kill you, but we are going to take you back to headquarters." Roy nodded at his subordinates, "We're taking him with us."

"Nobody else knows you're here. Rather foolish and arrogant of you, Mustang! I promise you that you'll never take us all alive."

"After the Promised Day, don't underestimate me," Roy all but growled.

"You're an arrogant fool, Mustang. There's one other thing you haven't thought about."

"And what's that?"

"Your pretty Lieutenant."

Roy's face paled as the man continued, "I expect that your Lieutenant is being taken care of by my friends."

"I'm the one you want, you can leave my men out of this."

"You're the one that brought them here, Flame Alchemist."

Breda's radio crackled and Roy froze at the sound of Fuery panic filled voice. "Hawkeye is looking for back up. I could hear gun shots."

"I suspect your First Lieutenant hasn't long left in the world."

Roy shoved the man at Breda. "You asshole!"

Roy started to run.

"I want you to see her die like you make us watch our loved ones," the man called after him before he broke into laughter.

Roy didn't spare a glance for the laughing man. The image of Riza bleeding out in front of him had haunted his dreams since the Promised Day.

 _No, no, no. It was unthinkable._

He couldn't lose her. Blood pounded in his ears and his heart raced. Despite the events of the Promised Day and his realisation of just what she meant to him, he still hadn't figured out what exactly they meant. If anything happened to her, he could never forgive himself. He was the one that brought her here, all because he in his pride had decided that he had to be the one to close down this cell. There was a sound of gun shot and he somehow managed to increase his speed.

Riza, hold on!

* * *

Riza was cold. She leaned against the wall, her hand staunching her wound just below her abdomen. There was too much, she knew that. She had let them trap her and knowing her superior he was about to walk into danger. She had failed him again.

"I'm sorry Roy."

"Lieutenant!"

Too late, she realised that this was the plan all along. She was the bait and Roy was heading for a trap. She watched helplessly as the Colonel rushed towards her.

"Hands up!"

The Ishbalan complied, but Riza looking over her superior's shoulder could see the sniper lining up for a shot on the roof. Roy, completely unaware of the danger continued to move towards her.

"Sniper on the roof," she managed to say.

Roy jumped back just as the sound of a gun shot ran out and she saw the man fall. Riza sighed in relief as Havoc came into view lowering his gun and turning his attention on the Ishbalan.

In spite of her pain, she smiled. "I can rest now."

"Lieutenant," Roy pleaded. "You're not going to die. Open your eyes!"

He was alright, she would never live to see him reach their goal, but he was alive to continue pursuing it. She closed her eyes and everything went black.

"Lieutenant! Lieutenant!" Roy dropped to his knees beside her and cradled her head in his lap.

There was so much blood pooled around her, he couldn't see where her wound was.

"Don't die on me, Lieutenant. Riza, I didn't give you permission to die."

He paid no attention to his other subordinate, who was busy restraining the final member of the cell. He checked the Lieutenant for signs of life. Her pulse was weak and her breathing was laboured, but she was still alive for now. But for how much longer was the question. He drew her closer to him.

Not again, please not again.

"Hello? Hello? What's going on?"

Fuery's tinny voice sounded from his right. Surprised, he took a moment to realise it was Riza's broken radio.

He picked it up from the ground where she must have dropped it, "Fuery, we need medical attention."

"Back up and a medic are already on the way."

"Is she..?"

Roy tossed the radio to Havoc, who had now finished tying up the assailant and he turned his attention back to his injured subordinate.

"Yes," he heard Havoc say, "it's bad, she's lost a lot of blood."

Listening to Havoc talk about it wasn't helping the sheer terror he was feeling. He leaned down to kiss her clammy forehead, hoping that she could hear him.

"Please don't die," he whispered into her ear. "I can't do this without you. You are the reason I can get up every day. I can't have your death on my conscience too, I couldn't bear it."

Breda emerged from the building with his own prisoner in tow.

When his eyes landed on Riza's prone form in Roy's arms. "Fuck."

Roy shook his head, "She's alive."

Breda sighed and put his hand on Roy's shoulder. "She's a fighter, she'll pull through. After all, she's the only one who can keep you in check. What would we do without her?"

Havoc's voice rose, "Good, oh I see them. Thanks Fuery, I'll keep you posted."

There was the sound of running footsteps, help was here at last.

"Come on sir, let the professionals do their job."

Suddenly, the idea hit him.

"I can sear her wound shut with my alchemy."

"There's no need sir." Jean pointed in the direction of the entrance to the courtyard, "Look Dr Knox is coming."

The coroner was running across the courtyard,

'He's a coroner, not a real doctor," Roy protested. "I can do this. I saved you, right?"

"Don't be an idiot." Havoc clocked him in the face. The violent action snapped Roy out of it.

"Someone needs to speak for Hawkeye, sir."

* * *

Riza's eyes fluttered open. The last thing she remember seeing was Roy's concerned gaze. She made it somehow. She was sure she was going to die.

"Lieutenant, you're awake."

"Where am I?" Her voice was hoarse from not being used.

Roy poured her a glass of water and held it to her lips, "In the military hospital."

She sipped at it gratefully and she raised her hand to hold it, but Roy didn't let go of the glass.

She gave him a half hearted glare, secretly enjoying the coddling, "I have enough, thank you."

He took away the glass and placed it on the bed side table, "I thought I was a goner for sure."

"So did I. I was getting ready to sear your wound shut. Thankfully, Dr Knox came. There are enough burns on your body because of me."

Later, she would blame the morphine, but she took his hand and squeezed it.

He froze for a moment before he returned the squee. "You had a blood transfusion because you had lost so much blood."

"No wonder I feel so terrible.'

The door opened and the pulled their entwined hands apart guiltily as a thin, severe looking nurse walked in.

"Ah, you're awake, Miss Hawkeye."

She smiled at Riza before giving Roy a pointed look.

He got up reluctantly, "The men will be glad to hear you are awake. I'll go tell them."

The nurse began her non too gentle examination. "Your young man is a stubborn one, he wouldn't leave your side since you came in here."

Riza blushed, "No - it's not like that. He's my superior office, but I guess you could say we go a long way back."

"I wouldn't mind having that devoted a boss."

I don't mind either.

* * *

 **The end**


End file.
